anlage

American  

[ahn-lah-guh] / ˈɑn lɑ gə /

noun

(sometimes initial capital letter)

plural

anlagen, anlages

1. Embryology. an embryonic area capable of forming a structure: the primordium, germ, or bud.

2. Psychology. an inherited predisposition to certain traits or to a particular character development.

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anlage British  

/ ˈænˌlɑːɡə /

noun

1. another word for primordium

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Etymology

Origin of anlage

1890–95; < German Anlage foundation, basis, as noun derivative of anlegen to lay on or out, apply, equivalent to an- on + legen to lay ¹

Explanation

Use the biological term anlage when you talk about the very earliest, most basic form of a plant or animal organ. An anlage is also known in science as a primordium. In either case, the word refers to an early developmental stage of an organ or tissue — an anlage is basically the potential for further growth and development, like an embryo that's brand new. You're most likely to encounter the word anlage in a biology textbook or article. It's a German word, meaning "foundation or basis," from the German verb anlagen, "to establish."

Example Sentences

As this groove is followed caudad its ventral wall is seen to become much thickened, tg, to form the anlage of the thyroid gland.

From Development of the Digestive Canal of the American Alligator by Reese, C. M.

Rudiment, used here as a translation for the word anlage, which means the first plotting-out or beginning of a living structure.

From The Biological Problem of To-day Preformation Or Epigenesis? The Basis of a Theory of Organic Development by Hertwig, Oscar

Once I saw enacted above ground, and in the light of day, something which may have had its roots in an anlage of divine discontent.

From Edge of the Jungle by Beebe, William

Hatchlings flex the plastron chiefly in the region of the humeropectoral seam, rather than at the anlage of the transverse hinge.

From Natural History of the Ornate Box Turtle, Terrapene ornata ornata Agassiz by Legler, John M.